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Welcome back, Arrow Squad! This week we gather to discuss Arrow Season 4 Episode 20 “Genesis” which originally aired on Wednesday May 4, 2016. Guest stars this week included Gabriella Wright, who played Esrin Fortuna, and what is likely the last appearance by Dr. Clark Edison Eugene Byrd as Andy Diggle.

Genesis

Not going to lie, I somehow missed the whole final minute of the episode! The neighborhood where Thea and Alex were vacationing, and Thea’s observations, totally gave me a Truman Show vibe, but I didn’t see the final moments where the real Truman Show-ness came out. Seriously, the episode got way better just seeing that final minute.

We got back and forth, on the podcast, of whether it’s believable how Thea was duped by her surroundings for almost the entire episode and I’m still not certain what camp I’m in. Yeah, she is trained by the Magician, but she hasn’t thrown herself into that life in the way someone like Malcolm has. I think what sets heroes apart in this way, and largely across the board, is their tendency to want the best and therefore neglect to see the nuances that others might pick up on immediately. She’s not expecting to be fooled by her boyfriend, so it takes her awhile to realize that he’s capable of it. I’d like to think it’s Thea’s humanness that doesn’t make her live in constant suspicion.

While Thea is trapped under the dome, the rest of the team is being brought up to speed on Genesis by Damien Darhk’s latest mission to procure the Rubicon, which is buried in the arm of one Lyla Michaels. It’s cool how they parallel Thea’s experience with the rest of the team’s, their realizations coming simultaneously but Thea’s coming from within, while everyone else is understanding it from the outside.

High Rollers

In other news, Felicity went with Oliver to Hub City in order to meet the mysterious Fortuna. No, she is not the Roman goddess of fortune (though, apparently, she is an immortal…because she has no wrinkles). However, I will credit the cleverness of having Felicity give Fortuna some chips and make the comment, “You never know when your luck is going to change.” as-420-high-rollersAs the Roman goddess is often referred to as the personification of luck, it seemed appropriately ironic!

My read on the Felicity and Oliver getaway was twofold:

1) Felicity needs (and maybe wants) to be part of the team again, but in order to do so, she and Oliver must find a way to work together. If this getaway was a means to work through the awkwardness that often comes with post-breakup friendships, then I am all for them venturing there. Plus, whatever it is… it’s drawing our beloved, witty and awkward Felicity back out!

2) We needed two favorite characters to be on friendly terms again. We needed Felicity to acknowledge she was hard on Oliver previously and to admit that it’s possible for people to change. If nothing else, I hope that this time together helped to clear the air and, in a way, help Oliver to forgive himself for everything that happened.

It definitely wasn’t the smoothest episode, overall, but it was jam-packed with great information. My anticipation of the final three episodes has risen a lot in the day since seeing this episode!

Next Week

Season 4 Episode 21 “Monument Point”
Watch Promo

Feedback

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